Jaguar Land Rover Australia is supporting a radical new solar car, incorporating Formula 1 design concepts, which will compete in this year’s Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. The vehicle was designed and built by the Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) who will be up against 40 other teams from across the world. The CUER team of students will speed across the harsh landscape of the Australian interior starting 6th October and covering 3,000 km. The drivers will experience temperatures of 40c+ and will be trying to avoid bushfires, which nearly scuppered last year’s race. Australian road testing is underway because of the great disparity between local conditions and the UK. Jaguar Land Rover Australia is proud to assist the CUER team by providing support vehicles for the duration of the race program.

Replicating the temperatures (or even just the sun) of the race in the UK is no easy task. However, the team was provided with access to Jaguar Land Rover’s state-of-the-art environmental testing facility in Coventry, UK, where they could test the car’s cooling. Adequate cooling is essential for the performance of the space-grade solar cells, but equally important for the driver, who must endure 4 hours stints in the tiny cockpit. The team is also rehearsing for control stops (the WSC equivalent of pit stops), using experience imported from a number of F1 teams. The standards for changes at control stops are incredibly high: in the 2011 competition, the 4th placed team could change a driver and two wheels in less than 30 seconds.

The team is also keen to inspire young people about the potential of solar technology. During their stay at Kormilda College they’ve given demonstrations of the working car to young science students to demonstrate what their studies can lead to. This follows on from the numerous school trips the team has made in the UK and events at places including the London Science Museum to take the car’s technology to a wider audience. In addition, members of the public can contact the team through their “Ask an Engineer” feature on CUER’s website.

Recent World Solar Challenge rule changes have leveled the playing field, replacing 3 wheels with 4 and drastically changing the shape of cars to make them safer. CUER’s game-changing solar car ‘Resolution’ takes full advantage of these changes, and has just emerged from its final stages of manufacture in the BOC Workshop Facilities in Darwin. Resolution uses Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) solar cells, which hold the terrestrial world record with an efficiency of 36%. The car contains a number of technologies not seen before in the World Solar Challenge. Foremost is their decoupling of the car’s solar and aerodynamic performance using an aft-facing sun tracking plate for its solar panels, and optically transparent canopy. By tracking the sun’s trajectory the car receives 20% more solar power. The result is a vehicle that rewrites the rulebook for solar vehicles within the new race parameters.

The car is built from an ultra-lightweight carbon composite chassis like those found in Formula 1, and a dynamic wheel steering system that minimizes the car’s drag. An electric motor that is over 98% efficient and regenerative braking system gives the car greater energy efficiency. All of these features allow the car to hit speeds of up to 140kph.

This year the car’s software will combine live weather data, traffic information, the elevation of the course and data from the car itself to respond to the danger of bushfires and receive the most sun to get the fastest race time. All of this information is relayed from the chase car to the driver via our telemetry system, which can also be used to send tweets of encouragement! Watch out for our upcoming app, where individuals can follow the team’s progress in real time.

However, the team knows that the race is not just about building the fastest cars. The race itself is a significant challenge for these Brits not used to Australian climes. Emil Hewage drove CUER’s entry in the 2011 competition. He says that the biggest challenge was a sudden bush fire.

“Our scout car saw the fire and importantly, the shadow cast by its huge smoke plume. In this competition you are always balancing the budget of energy input against speed gain. It was a race to get back to the sunlight.”

This year the race has attracted over 40 entries from teams all over the world, and Keno Mario-Ghae, their Team Manager, does not underestimate the competition: “The margin between first and second place in the 2011 race was just 30 minutes. The narrowly beaten Dutch team had previously won the race four times in succession, so we are not underestimating the strength of the competition”. Nonetheless, Keno is quietly confident about his team’s chances: “we’re entering a wholly new design this year, packed with interesting technologies.” For their third vehicle to enter the race, the team have to topple the big three teams – Tokai, Michigan, and Nuon – from Japan, the United States and The Netherlands respectively.

CUER are grateful for the support of Jaguar Land Rover, Cambridge Precision, The BOC Group and the many other individuals and companies that have contributed their support, advice and time. To get more involved with the team, contact them on Twitter @cuerSolarTeam, email captain@cuer.co.uk or join the solar revolution by donating on the website, www.cuer.co.uk

– UPDATE –The team has had an unfortunate accident during the final testing. While testing on Cox Peninsula Road in Darwin, Resolution rolled onto her side while driving at 85kph and travelled for 50m before skidding across the road and down some gravel before coming to rest away from the road. We are all relieved that the driver was not injured and was able to walk away from the accident completely unscathed. The canopy sustained severe damage and the solar cells on the right of the door completely wiped out. The World Solar Challenge organisers have been fully supportive and have extended their scrutineering deadline by 24 hours to give the team time to fix the car. The team believes they will have the vehicle ready in time and are looking forward to the race.

Our racing cars showcase cutting-edge sustainable engineering and demonstrate the incredible potential of electric vehicle technologies. By designing a car to run on solar power alone, we are driving the step changes in vehicle efficiency and new technologies for a low-carbon future.

The team is inclusive and contains many students from different disciplines.

We are very grateful for the support of the advisory board that includes Dr Hermann Hauser CBE, (Chair) Prof Peter Gutherie OBE, Prof Tony Purnell, Charles Cotton, Hugh Parnell, Richard Hobbs and Martin McBrien

Also that of our sponsors Jaguar Land Rover, Cambridge Precision, The BOC Group and that of the many other individuals and companies that have contributed their support, advice and time.

Quotes Dr Hermann Hauser CBE, Chair of the Advisory Board for CUER“The UK may not have the sunshine but it does have innovation in solar technology. Success in technology development comes from having a single focus – you have to do one thing and do it better than anyone in the world – this is reflected in the design strategy adopted by CUER and I wish them all the best in the World Solar Challenge.”

Andrew Foster, Chief Engineer at Range Rover and Land Rover Body Programmes“Jaguar Land Rover support CUER through the Cambridge University Engineering Department (CUED) Student Projects Industry Partnership (SPIP), providing access to our world class automotive development experts and facilities. We have been impressed with the team’s creativity, ambition and determination, which have led to the launch of this vehicle, and wish the team luck for a successful 2013 World Solar Challenge.”

Harry Cheek, Area Manager, BOC Limited“When Resolution was finally delivered at BOC I was looking forward to see in the new design. Having collaborated with the two previous Cambridge Solar Car Teams, I was anticipating something special and I was not disappointed.”

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (WSC) is a grueling solar marathon across the heart of Australia from Darwin to Adelaide, starting on the 6th October 2013. The challenge is to design and build a vehicle that will use the power of the sun to average 80 km/h in one of the world’s harshest environments.

CUER first entered the WSC in 2009, with Endeavour. Despite battery issues, the team finished a very respectable 14th place out of 26 entrants. It returned in 2011 following a substantial redesign. Alas, bush fires, and poor weather conditions meant only 7 of the 37 entrants completed the race on solar power alone. CUER won the Safety Award for demonstrating the highest standard of safe and consistent racing – an award which usually goes to one of the race front-runners.

A change in the rules has opened up the 2013 competition – the stipulation that cars competing in the newly introduced 2 main classes (Challenger Class and Cruiser Class) must have 4 wheels has relegated traditional 3-wheeled designs to the entry level Adventure Class. This, combined with stricter headspace requirements and a more upright seating position, has signaled a move towards more practical commercial designs.

42 teams, from 24 countries have entered the 2013 WSC, the largest number of entrants the competition has ever had.

Tokai University Japan won the Challenger class in 2011 and 2009,

TU Delft, Netherlands won the same category in 2007, 2005, 2003 and 2001.

CUER‘s entry: Resolution

Key innovations:Solar panels are housed within an aft-facing sun tracking plate that follows the trajectory of the sun, creating a 20 per cent gain in power.

The motor is located in the hub of the wheel, so there is no need for gears, chains or differentials, which each account of a five per cent loss in efficiency.

A canopy to house the space grade solar cells decouples the aerodynamic and solar performances of the car, making the design highly efficient.

Resolution’s terrestrial world record holding GaAs solar cells will charge Panasonic laptop batteries which are the most efficient available.

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